Yami
by Tafkae
Summary: *COMPLETE* Something's wrong with Yami... or is it? Please review. Sequel coming soon!
1. Dreams Do Come True

Yami  
by TAFKAE  
  
Chapter 1: Dreams Do Come True  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh, and I hardly know the characters since I hardly ever watch it, but I love it anyway!  
  
~*~*~  
  
Joey slapped Yugi on the back as he caught up with him in the hallway. "Hey Yugi, what's up?"  
  
"Oh hi Joey, nothing much," his friend replied, but he looked bummed.  
  
Joey shot him a concerned look. "What's the matter? You okay?"  
  
"I had a weird dream last night," Yugi replied.  
  
"Let's hear it," his schoolmate responded.  
  
"I was playing Duel Monsters against someone," he stated. "I couldn't see their face. But for every move I made, he had a trap planted. He always knew exactly what I was going to do."  
  
"Rough," Joey breathed.  
  
"Yeah, but that's not the worst of it. I lost horribly, and the spotlight shone on the other guy to say he was the winner…" Yugi paused, as if he wasn't sure what to say next.  
  
"Well? Who was it?"  
  
For the first time that day, Yugi actually looked into Joey's eyes, with a very serious air in his own. "It was Yami."  
  
Joey backpedaled and fell over onto something soft. "WHAT!!? Yami? That's not -"  
  
"I don't mean to bug you, Joey," Tristan growled, "but could you please get off me?"  
  
Joey mumbled an apology and got off, then helped Tristan up. "Freakish, man," he whispered. "You think it means anything?"  
  
"What, you falling on top of him?" Téa asked. "It could mean you're -"  
  
"Can it, Téa," Joey interrupted. Téa laughed. Tristan frowned.  
  
Yugi just watched them patiently, then spoke up. "Come on guys, this is important."  
  
His friends looked at him. "What's important?" Tristan asked.  
  
"I have this weird feeling, like something's seriously wrong with Yami." Yugi's eyes drifted to the left. "I haven't heard a word out of him all day, and that's just not like him."  
  
"Well, you'd know better than we would," Téa said matter-of-factly. "We only see him when you're dueling, and even then he really only talks to the opponent."  
  
"I know. But still…" Yugi looked disconcertedly back at his friends, silent.  
  
Tristan nodded. "We'll be careful."  
  
"Thanks."  
  
"I'm not sure what we should be careful of, but -"  
  
Téa whacked him on the head. "We'll keep an eye on you, just in case something happens."  
  
"That's good," Yugi replied. "I'm not sure if anything actually is going to happen, but if it does, I know I can count on you guys."  
  
Joey gave him a thumbs-up. "Hey, what're friends for?"  
  
~*~*~  
  
"…and that means that the square of the hypotenuse is equal to the squares of the legs, added together…"  
  
Yugi sighed. The teacher was starting to drone again. He looked over at Joey's desk. Joey was leaning back, his mouth wide open, and a slight buzzing sound coming out. 'He's fast asleep,' Yugi thought, and yawned. 'I could use some sleep too…' Relaxing, he laid his head down in his arms and shut his eyes.  
  
Then he heard it. He wasn't sure if it was real or just part of a dream, but he heard it. Laughter… evil laughter… but who…?  
  
Yami appeared in front of him. "Hello, Yugi," he said, a confident smirk on his face.  
  
"Yami? What's going on? You've been so quiet…"  
  
Yami just smiled even more. "I've been waiting, Yugi… waiting for you to let down your guard like this."  
  
"What are you talking about?"  
  
"I want your soul," he said simply. "And I will take it!" With those words, he rushed toward the boy whose body he used so often.  
  
"Yami, what are you doing?" Yugi shouted, backing away a step or two. Yami said nothing as he rushed past, kicking up a breeze. The other's hair fluttered. "Yami!" he screamed.  
  
"Yugi!" the teacher shouted, snapping him back to reality. He sat up abruptly and looked at her; she was scowling. "I asked you a question."  
  
Yugi lowered his head. "Sorry, ma'am, I guess I fell asleep…"  
  
The class laughed, but just then Joey let out a tremendous SNXXXXXXX! and suddenly everyone was laughing at him instead.  
  
The teacher stormed over to his desk and rapped him sharply on the head with a ruler. Joey instantly became more alert. "OW!!!"  
  
"I'm ashamed," she growled. "Both of you will be serving detention this afternoon. I'll let Mr. Kohl decide what to do with you."  
  
Joey and Yugi exchanged a nervous glance. Mr. Kohl was the assistant principal with a mean streak three miles wide and the charm of an eel.  
  
And after hearing about detention experiences with him, no one ever passed within a mile of his office if they didn't have to.  
  
~*~*~  
  
Kold Kohl was what they called him. And they had good reason to. He could split hairs with that toothy grin, uneven moustache sitting on top of it and the way his eyes seemed to pierce into your soul and leave it feeling remotely like Swiss cheese..  
  
"So I hear you boys fell asleep in class," he said evilly. "Well, I have the perfect chore for you…"  
  
Joey and Yugi exchanged another nervous glance…  
  
~*~*~  
  
…and the next thing they knew, they were washing the floor in the cafeteria.  
  
Joey picked up a banana peel and tossed it into a trash can. "Disgustin'. Nobody ever picks up their mess around here."  
  
Yugi distractedly moved the sponge he was using around in little circles on the floor. "I need you to hear something, Joey."  
  
Joey looked over at him as he tossed a tater tot at the trash can, missed, and ignored it. "What?"  
  
"When I fell asleep in class…" Yugi looked down. "Something happened. Something almost happened," he corrected himself.  
  
"What was that?"  
  
"Yami…" He sighed. "Something's happened to him. He said he wanted my soul and he'd been waiting for me to let down my guard…"  
  
Joey's gaze suddenly turned serious. "You're sure?"  
  
His friend nodded. "Positive. Something's very wrong with Yami. And I have a feeling that if I fall asleep again, he's going to take over and do… something or other…"  
  
"And you don't know what."  
  
"But it has to be bad." Yugi shook his head. "I don't know. I don't… I feel like I'm trapped…"  
  
~*~*~  
  
Eventually the cafeteria was finished and they had moved on, but Joey did most of the work himself. It was quite a while later when he realized his compatriot was missing. After retracing his steps for several minutes, he reached the cafeteria -   
  
- where Yugi was sprawled on the floor, fast asleep. Joey shook him gently. "Yugi, wake up."  
  
Yugi sat up and rubbed his head. "Joey?" he asked.  
  
"Yeah. You okay?" Joey just couldn't get over the fact that something looked different about his friend, and it bothered him.  
  
Yugi stood and looked around. Just then, Joey noticed.  
  
The marks on his forehead. The shape of his eyes. The flare on the back of his coat.  
  
Joey gasped. "Yami…" he murmured.  
  
Yami Yugi looked Joey in the eye and smirked. Too fast for anyone to see, his foot came forward and connected with the pit of Joey's stomach. The latter doubled over in pain and in the few seconds before he blacked out, wheezed,  
  
"Yami… why would you…"  
  
Yami smirked again. "Because you are weak, and I am strong."  
  
*CHAPTER END*  
  
You like? I need ideas for chapter 2, so if you want more, please review! 


	2. Let's Duel!

Yami  
by TAFKAE  
  
Chapter 2: Let's Duel!  
  
A/N: Thanks to all my readers for your support and wonderful ideas! I love my fans!  
  
Oh, and no disclaimer this time, because disclaimers SUCK!!! BWAHAHA! DIE, DISCLAIMERS!!! TAKE THAT, FCC!!  
  
~*~*~  
  
He could feel him.  
  
The sun had dawned on the next morning, and Yami was far from the school. No doubt that kid's friends had found him by now. Well, no hurry. Let them come. And they would come. And he would kill them, slowly, one by one.  
  
Still, he could feel the boy's influence on the back corner of his mind. He didn't want to, and tried to drown it out, but he'd definitely gotten too used to him. Maybe this was how he felt when Yami wasn't in control. No matter, he was now, and that was all that counted.  
  
He glanced over at the pile of totaled cars that had swerved to avoid him on that deserted road, and half-smiled. He just couldn't get over that look on the drivers' faces just moments before they died. Not that it would have hurt if they'd hit him. He was too strong for that. In the end, it was strength that ruled. Might didn't have to be Right, so long as it was Might.  
  
He had Might. Nothing else mattered.  
  
~*~*~  
  
"Yugi did it?"  
  
"No," Joey corrected, nursing his injured stomach. "Yami Yugi, you lunkhead. Yami. Yugi was right, something's wrong with him. OW! Watch it, Téa!"  
  
"Sorry," she grumbled. "It wouldn't hurt as much if you'd hold still. Now hold still and let me bandage it."  
  
"Yeah," Tristan added. Joey glared at him before he decided to say anything else stupid.  
  
"He's gotten stronger," Téa murmured. "Yugi normally couldn't make you bleed like this."  
  
"I'm not bleeding that bad."  
  
Tristan pointed to the bloodstain on the linoleum floor. "Yes, you are. Look at that."  
  
"I did. I had my goddamn face planted in it all goddamn night. DAMNIT Téa, I said watch it!"  
  
"If you don't watch your language, I'm going to get the saltshaker."  
  
"All right, all right, jeez." Joey sighed. "We have to find him. Yugi did say something about Yami wanting his soul…"  
  
"Hope he doesn't eat it, like Winnowill."  
  
"Get your head out of your comic books for a change, Tristan."  
  
"Watch it, Téa, that really smarts!"  
  
"Oh, don't be such a baby."  
  
"Goo goo."  
  
"Shut up, Tristan."  
  
  
"Woogie woogie woo."  
  
"Shut up, Tristan!"  
  
"A boo boo bOWW!!!"  
  
Téa kissed her fist and went back to Joey. "I said shut up."  
  
"What'd I do?!?" Tristan wailed, clutching his black eye.  
  
Joey stood up the instant Téa finished the bandages. He didn't bother to put on his shirt, just ran outside and stopped a foot or two short of the chain-link fence. "YAMI!!!!!"  
  
There was an echo.  
  
~*~*~  
  
Miles away, Yami heard it… and laughed.  
  
~*~*~  
  
Two days later…  
  
"Yugi's absent again?" the teacher sighed.  
  
"I think he got the flu, ma'am," Joey lied.  
  
"All right, then," she sighed again. "Take out your books and turn to page 426."  
  
As the class did so, the door swung open and Yugi slowly walked in.   
  
Téa gasped. Tristan and Joey narrowed their eyes…  
  
"Sorry I'm late," said Yugi. "My bike broke and I had to walk."  
  
To which all three of his friends gave a confused look.  
  
He sat down at the table and swung his backpack over the back of his chair. "Hey guys," he whispered as the teacher continued droning.  
  
"It's about time," Joey sighed. "What happened? Did you find out what's wrong with him?"  
  
Yugi shook his head. "Not yet, but I'm trying."  
  
"How'd you get back?" Téa asked eagerly.  
  
Her friend shrugged. "I'm not really sure. He just kind of… let go…"  
  
"That's weird," said Joey.  
  
"I know," Yugi replied. Then he sat up straight. "Anybody up for a game of Duel Monsters at break?"  
  
Joey opened his mouth to say something, but Téa interjected before he had a chance to. "Yugi, this is no time for dueling. We never know when he might show up again."  
  
"That's true," Yugi returned, "but I think I might be able to get him under control then. He never turns down a duel if he's offered one."  
  
"Ya got that right." Joey tilted his head just a bit. "I'll do it. As a friend, I accept your challenge." He held out one hand.  
  
Yugi shook it. "Right away at break."  
  
"Gotcha," the other whispered before leaning back into his seat and slumping down for a nap.  
  
~*~*~  
  
"Are you ready?" Tristan asked with much ceremonial flair.  
  
"Yes," they both replied, Yugi with a serious expression on his face, and Joey with an almost lighthearted one.  
  
"Then let the duel begin!" Tristan shouted, alerting the entire class to the match and bringing them running over with excited cries of "Yugi versus Joey?" "Yeah, the best in the world dueling the worst!" "Ten bucks on Yugi!" "Fifty cents on Joey!"  
  
Yugi slid five cards off the top of his deck and launched into thought, as Joey did the same and almost immediately set the Archangel Warrior into attack mode. Yugi thought more carefully before laying down the Dark Magician.  
  
"Geez, what is it with you and starting every match with the Dark Magician?" Joey joked.  
  
Yugi simply said, "Your move." There was no emotion in his voice, and Joey assumed he'd gone into autopilot and was carrying on a heated discussion with Yami.  
  
"All right then," he replied, thinking carefully again, but quickly setting an Azalea Gnome (one of almost fifteen in his deck) to defense.  
  
Suddenly, things began to fade into black. The class stood around the table, stock-still, outlined in the darkness, nearby and still distant. Joey looked back and forth. "Hey, what the heck -?"  
  
"The stakes have increased," said a voice he knew too well.  
  
He looked back at his friend. Yugi was still holding the cards in one hand, but his eyes had sharpened and his expression had changed to a downright evil one. "Yami," Joey breathed.  
  
"I knew you'd fall right into my trap," Yami answered. "You're so gullible."  
  
"Trap? But Yugi said -"  
  
"Yugi," Yami interrupted, "has not yet awakened, and will not until I want him to, which isn't likely to happen at all. I simply took his place for a while, and raised the stakes."  
  
"Whaddaya mean, 'raised the stakes'?" Joey demanded.  
  
"Simple," Yami returned. "If you lose -" he pointed at Téa "- her soul will belong to me."  
  
Joey's eyes went wide, then narrowed. "You're bluffing. Only one person who can do that, and that's that creep Pegasus."  
  
"He gets that ability from the Millennium eye. You think I might find it difficult?"  
  
"You wouldn't. Not to Téa."  
  
"Try me."  
  
Joey growled. "Fine. But I won't lose."  
  
"Neither will I," Yami replied calmly.  
  
*CHAPTER END* 


	3. Playing Dirty

Yami  
by TAFKAE  
  
Chapter 3: Playing Dirty  
  
~*~*~  
  
Joey surveyed his hand. He was screwed, and he knew it. His wasn't the best deck in the world, and he wasn't the best duelist in the world, and battling Yami Yugi, or even regular Yugi, would end him up losing pitifully.  
  
_What was it you always said, Yugi? _he thought. _Believe in the cards. Trust the cards. Well, I hope his own philosophy works against him._  
  
He was awakened from his thoughts by Yami's eternally-patient-and-yet-not-all-that-patient voice. "Your move."  
  
He looked over his hand again. Sword and Shield wouldn't do him any good right now. Korello the Black wouldn't do him much good either with its attack power of 1300. In fact, there wasn't one card in his hand that would help him at all. So he pulled out one from the top of his deck and looked at it. He could never have been prepared for what he saw.  
  
Oh, he knew his deck. He knew it well. He also knew that the Starlight Virgin was one of the rarest cards in existence. It had an attack power of 2800, a defense of 2400, and a random attack that had a forty-one point five percent chance of being Starlight Magic and fifty-eight percent of being Virgin's Kiss. (He couldn't remember what the other point five percent was a chance of.)  
  
But what he knew most of all was that he didn't have one. Tucking it in his hand, he deployed Korello to attack mode and decided to save the Virgin for later, though he had no clue how it had ended up in his deck.  
  
"You're hiding something," Yami taunted. "I know you're hiding something."  
  
"Just move already," Joey snapped.  
  
"Very well." Yami pulled a card from his hand and laid it down. "I summon the Poisonwraith!"  
  
From nowhere a giant Poisonwraith appeared out of the ground and twitched. Its size dwarfed the Dark Magician, whom Yami instantly commanded, "Dark Magician - Dark Magic attack!"  
  
Korello was annihilated instantly, and Joey's life points dropped to 1700. But that wasn't all that happened. As his monster disintegrated, he felt a sharp pain run briefly through his body, almost enough to make him cry out, and just enough to make him slump over a little and hold a rail for support.  
  
"Oh, did that hurt? I'm sorry, I forgot to tell you," Yami taunted. "In this game, whatever your monster feels, you will feel as well. Do you enjoy the pain of defeat?"  
  
"I ain't defeated yet, Yami," Joey growled. "And remember, this is gonna hurt you as much as it hurts me -"  
  
With that, he switched the Archangel Warrior to attack mode and with the Staff of Justice attack, vaporized the Dark Magician. Yami shouted and stumbled backwards a few steps, life points at 1675.  
  
"How do ya like that, ya double-crossin' sonuvabitch?" Joey snarled.  
  
Yami wiped some blood off his lip and took his former place again. "Not bad, but the name-calling is very immature."  
  
"That's me." Joey smirked and tilted his head. "Your move."  
  
"All right." Yami pointed forward, past his Poisonwraith. "Poisonwraith, Poisoned Souls attack!"  
  
Green goop spouted from the monster's mouth and covered the Azalea Gnome and Archangel Warrior. Joey felt a twinge in his right arm, then his vision blurred slightly, outlines bleeding into each other, and he started feeling dizzy.  
  
"That the - whoa!" he shouted as he almost fell over and grabbed the rail to keep him from doing so. "That the best you can do?!"  
  
"Pain is temporary," Yami chuckled, "but poison lasts a long, long time."  
  
Joey's eyes narrowed. "Poison or no poison, I'm still gonna kick your butt."  
  
Yami smiled cockily. "Look again."  
  
Joey did. The Gnome's hit points were dropping dramatically, and so were those of the Archangel. He had to act fast, or he'd lose the last monsters he had on the field. "Archangel Warrior…" He slumped over the table. "Radiant Earth!"  
  
The ground glowed. The Poisonwraith looked down in shock as its legs disintegrated. Its torso and head followed, and Yami's life points dropped to 1225 as he winced and stumbled forward, with no Wraith.  
  
"How's tha -" Joey stopped when he realized his Azalea Gnome was gone, too, its lesser hit points no match for the efficacious venom. His own life points were at 1400, but the poison had dulled the pain enough that he hadn't felt much at all. Thinking fast, or as fast as he could under the influence of the poison, he yanked a card off his deck and looked at it.  
  
_Trust in the cards, _he thought._ So it __does__ work._ He slammed the card onto the table. "I summon the Cleansing Mist!"  
  
Yami jumped back. He obviously hadn't been expecting it. The Archangel's hit points jumped back to their original 2000, and this time Joey could see it clearly. "Thanks for teaching me to trust the cards, Yami," he laughed. "Never woulda known the Mist was right there without 'cha!"  
  
Yami scowled. "I suppose that was my mistake."  
  
"Or maybe," Joey suggested, "you know you were gonna go evil like this all along, somehow, and you cared too much to leave us defenseless."  
  
"I don't care about you," his opponent snapped. "I'm just having a little fun."  
  
"Why are you acting like this?" Joey wondered aloud. "It's not like you."  
  
Yami growled and pulled a card out of his deck, then slammed it down. "I summon Nuriko the White!"  
  
A young woman appeared out of the ground. She was Japanese, in a white kimono with sleeves that fell six inches past her hands. She didn't look strong, and not by her stats, either.  
  
_1400:1800. Easy,_ Joey thought. _Rest easy, Téa. You're safe in my capable hands._ "Archangel Warrior, Staff of Justice!"  
  
The Warrior obeyed. Nuriko crouched down and glowed slightly. As the Staff came closer, it slowed, and slowed, until finally the Warrior was straining just to hold it still, and then it was vaporized, along with its owner…  
  
Joey stumbled back with a shout. His life points had fallen to 950. "What the hell was that?!" he shouted. "There's no _way_ she coulda gotten it! Not the Archangel Warrior!"  
  
He was interrupted by Yami's cold laugh. "You don't know Nuriko very well, do you? She may not be very strong physically, but she has a powerful psychic shield…"  
  
"Nothing's gonna get the best of me!" Joey yelled. "Nothing!" And with that word, he swiftly yanked the Starlight Virgin out of his hand and slammed it onto the field.  
  
Yami jumped. "WHAT? You - there's no way you could - I know for a FACT you don't have - but - "  
  
"Hey, until I found it in my deck, I didn't think I had one either," Joey pointed out. "But anyway…" He pointed out onto the field, where Nuriko stood stalwart. "You're goin' down, Yami!"  
  
"I don't think so…" Yami replied, regaining his composure. He pulled a card out of his hand. "I waited exactly for the right moment to do this." And laid it down on the table. "Magical Clones!"  
  
Within a half-second, there were eight Nurikos on the field. Joey jumped. "Whata?!"  
  
"Feh." Yami tilted his head. "Only one is the real Nuriko. The others have the same abilities, and they can hurt you very badly. They'll only all disappear if you destroy the real one."  
  
Joey's eyes went wide. _Oh, great! How the heck am I gonna tell which one's the real Nuriko?!_  
  
"It's your move," Yami continued. "Use it wisely. It's the only chance you'll get to actually use your new Starlight Virgin."  
  
_One move to figure out which one is the real one…_ A drop of sweat ran down Joey's face as his eyes darted from one Nuriko, to another, to another, to another… and then…  
  
"Starlight Virgin," he commanded, "attack that one! The one with a shadow!"  
  
"It's no use, Joey," Yami stated. "Remember what happened to your Archangel?"  
  
Joey flicked him off. "Look, Yami, if you wanna question my strategy, do it when you're on my side! Starlight Virgin…" He pointed with the more appropriate finger now. "Use Roulette!"  
  
_Roulette… it chooses one random attack of the ones she can do… Virgin's Kiss or Starlight Magic…it's gotta be one of those… unless…_  
  
With no warning at all, the woman's hands glowed, and came back, and shot forth a blast so powerful…  
  
"OF COURSE!" Joey yelled. "The last point five percent is the chance of it being Obliterate!"  
  
"No!" Yami screamed. "I can't lose! Not to you!"  
  
He raised his hand in Téa's direction. It glowed slightly. Joey didn't even notice, because just then Obliterate hit the eight Nurikos, annihilating each and every last one of them, and sending Yami's life points spiraling down to zero. Yami screamed, and fell backwards onto the floor, and then it was over. The black faded out, and the world came back to life.  
  
"Wha - what the heck just happened?" someone asked.  
  
"Yugi! Is he okay?"  
  
"When're they gonna start?"  
  
"Hey, Joey!" Tristan shouted over the roar of the crowd. "I need an explanation here!"  
  
He was supporting the unconscious Téa in his arms.  
  
Joey's eyes widened. "He… he did it anyway…"  
  
*CHAPTER END*  
  
Please review! I love reviews! And if you have the time, please read and review my other stories too! *grin grin* 


	4. Things Are Not Always As They Seem

Yami  
by TAFKAE  
  
Chapter 4: Things Are Not Always As They Seem  
  
~*~*~  
  
It was several hours later. Tristan had phoned Yugi's house (apartment?) and gotten his grandfather to come and pick everyone up from school, and now Yugi was lying on the sofa in the living room while Téa rested peacefully on a sleeping mat nearby. Tristan and Joey were passing the time by reading comic books. "After all," Joey would defend, "Yugi's grandpa *_did_* say he probably needed a little rest."  
  
"Pshaw," Tristan retorted. "I say we wake him up. Or sock him in the nose."  
  
"Don't say stuff like that, man," Joey replied seriously. "It's still Yugi, after all."  
  
"Yeah, it's still Yugi," Tristan grumbled sarcastically. "Sure, Yugi can and _would_ do something like that to Téa…"  
  
Just then, Yugi stirred. Joey and Tristan looked over the tops of Avengers #98 and Bionicle #2 just in time to see him sit up and rub his head. "Unh…" He looked at them and managed a half-smile. "Hi, guys…"  
  
"Good to see you back in the action, Yugi," Joey said. "Unless, of course, you're Yami tryin' to trick me again, in which case you're gonna have a bloody nose in about ten seconds."  
  
"I thought you said we _weren't_ gonna sock him in the nose," Tristan pointed out.  
  
Joey paused. "I never said that."  
  
"So what the heck is going on inside your little head, Yugi?" Tristan continued almost before Joey had finished.  
  
Yugi sighed. "I'm really sorry, guys…" He hung his head, and looked distractedly at Téa's motionless form. "I'm sorry I did all that…"  
  
"Hey, it wasn't _your_ fault," Joey reassured him.  
  
Yugi looked up. "But I did find out one thing. It wasn't Yami's fault, either."  
  
"**_WHAT?!_**" his friends shouted in unison.  
  
"Actually, it _does_ kinda make sense," Joey pondered aloud. "Never in my wildest dreams have I had a hope of beating Yugi at Duel Monsters…" He looked up. "So who was it?"  
  
"I'm not sure," Yugi replied, closing his eyes gently. "I could try and check, but it's getting awfully crowded…"  
  
~*~*~  
  
Crowded though it was, it was quiet in the soul room. There were two forms that he could see lying in midair in the darkness. One was Téa, and the other…  
  
"Yami!" Yugi shouted, floating to his alter ego's side. He laid his hands on him and shook vigorously. "Yami, are you all right?"  
  
There was no reply. Yugi darted to Téa and took her by the shoulders. "Téa! Wake up! Somebody…!" A chill of fear ran down his spine. Was Téa dead? Was Yami dead? Was he… alone…?  
  
His question was answered by a quiet moan from Téa. "Wh…" She sat up and rubbed her head. "Yugi?"  
  
Yugi smiled and breathed a sigh of relief. "It's all right, Téa."  
  
His friend looked around in utter confusion. "Where are we? What happened?"  
  
"I'm not exactly sure," Yugi replied, glancing across to Yami, who still hadn't moved. "Stay here. I think Yami knows."  
  
Téa gave him an odd look. "Why are both of you in the same place at the same time?"  
  
"Technically, we always are," Yugi replied, having flown to Yami and brought him to a closer proximity to Téa. "But I do know it's not his fault that this happened."  
  
"His fault that _what_ happened?" Téa demanded. "There's a lot you're not telling me, Yugi."  
  
"It's quite simple," said a voice that sounded like sugar but flowed like hot fudge. A shadow became outlined against the shadows, with bright, green, glowing eyes and not much else. "I've given your soul a new home…"  
  
"So it was _you_ this whole time," Yugi snapped. "You _enjoy_ making people suffer, don't you?!"  
  
"It's my favorite thing to do," the shadow responded. "Thank you for making yourself so readily available. I could do anything I wanted and blame it on your little alter ego while he slept." A tentacle-like shadow eased outward and stroked Yami's face. "So convenient…"  
  
"Leave me alone. Leave us all alone," Yugi corrected himself, almost pleadingly. "And leave my friends out of it. I don't even know who you are!"  
  
The shadow chuckled. "I was called Niikaso a long time ago… now I'm just a demon without a name… and you've let down your guard, Yugi Moto!"  
  
Yugi's eyes widened, but he didn't have a second to think before the shadow raced past him, heading out, to control his body again. "NO!" he shouted.  
  
"Stop!" Téa yelled.  
  
Just then, the shadow did. It whirled around, looking for a reason. "What?!"  
  
Yugi looked around, too, and everyone noticed at the same time - Yami had one hand wrapped around a corner of the shadow, his eyes still closed, but he had that cocky smirk on his face. "I'm sorry, I couldn't hear you very well," he taunted. "Was it _Yugi_ who let down his guard, or _you…?_"  
  
The shadow growled. "Of all the times for you to decide to wake up!"  
  
"I've _been_ awake," Yami explained. His eyes flew open. "You're going down _all the way_."  
  
With that, Yami and the shadow formerly known as Niikaso (sorry, couldn't resist writing that!) took up positions on either side of an invisible field. It was obvious they were going to fight.  
  
"Your move," Yami stated.   
  
The shadow yelled and charged. Yami's hands glowed, and he caught it effortlessly. You could almost smell it burning as it screamed and backed away. "What the hell was that?!"  
  
"A little trick I learned a long time ago," he replied confidently. "Come and get me, if you can."  
  
The shadow growled, then charged again…  
  
~*~*~  
  
"Hey Tristan?"  
  
Tristan looked up from the comic book he'd started on again. "Yeah?"  
  
Joey pointed at Yugi's body. "Uh, it's not good when they start going into convulsions, is it?"  
  
~*~*~  
  
Yami and the shadow were going at it full-force, Yami shooting things out of his hands and the shadow simply recoiling and coming back. Téa was watching anxiously until she heard a small moan from beside her. Yugi was kneeling down, with both hands on his head, apparently in some sort of pain. Téa kneeled down beside him and put one hand on his shoulder. "Yugi, what's wrong? Are you all right?"  
  
Yugi's eyes, shut tight, twitched. "I feel like… like I'm being … ripped apart…!" he muttered.  
  
Téa's eyes widened. She looked up at the combatants. Every time one of them hurt the other, she could feel Yugi shudder under her hand. It didn't take long for her to make the connection. She rapidly stood. "Stop it!" she shouted as loud as she could. "You're killing him!"  
  
Yami looked over in mixed shock and concern, leaving him wide open for a hit from the shadow. It passed right through him. He screamed in unison with Yugi.  
  
~*~*~  
  
"Damnit," Joey moaned. "I don't know what's going on in there, but something has _got_ to be done about it!" His eyes landed on the Millenium Puzzle, and after a brief second of thought, his hand advanced toward it as well. He pulled back as it started glowing. "Damn!"  
  
Tristan frowned. "Chill out, Joey. There's really nothing we can do right now."  
  
"Nothing we can do my _ass!_" Joey shouted, and he took hold of the puzzle around Yugi's neck, and tore it off, snapping the cord that held it in place.  
  
~*~*~  
  
Yami's eyes went wide. "No…"  
  
Without leaving any time for anyone to figure out what was going on, Yami and the shadow disappeared. Yugi looked up in shock. "Yami!"  
  
Téa took a nervous step back. "What the hell just happened?"  
  
Yugi looked back and forth in total disbelief. "They… they're gone… Yami's gone…"  
  
~*~*~  
  
"This thing's a lot more trouble than it's worth," Joey muttered, eyeing the puzzle on the table. His eyes turned to Yugi, who seemed to have quieted down considerably. "Well, least it worked."  
  
"I don't know if that was the right thing to do, Joey," Tristan said cautiously.  
  
Joey's eyes flashed to the side. "Eh… well, if it wasn't, it's a little late now…"  
  
Just then Yugi sat bolt upright, breathing heavily. "Wha- ?"  
  
"Hey, welcome back to the land of the living, Yug," Joey hailed.  
  
Yugi didn't seem to hear him. He looked frantically to one side, then the other, before noticing the Puzzle resting safely on the table. He jumped up and ran to get it. "The Puzzle -!"  
  
Joey grabbed him by the wrist as he passed. "I had to do _somethin'_," he explained.  
  
"Let me go! I have to get it!" Yugi shouted, struggling to get free.  
  
This only caused Joey to hold tighter. "You _don't_ get it, Yugi! Whatever just happened would've killed you!"  
  
Yugi felt Téa's silent assent in the back of his mind. He looked at Tristan, who nodded sternly. After a brief pause, he sighed and sat down on the floor. "Then what are we going to do?" His eyes landed on Téa's body, which was still stretched out across the floor. "I really don't know what I _can_ do…"  
  
"Uh…" Joey put one hand behind his head. "We can pray."  
  
Tristan bonked him. "That's _not_ gonna help!"  
  
Yugi sat quietly, deep in thought. _Does this mean I have to be alone now?_ he wondered. _I don't know if I could deal with being alone!_  
  
_Don't worry,_ Téa's voice reassured him. _We'll figure this out and get it under control, and we'll do it together. After all, what're friends for?_  
  
He smiled slightly. _You're right. I'm not sure how, but we'll do it._  
  
*CHAPTER END*  
  
Damn, I'm good! Read, review, and stay tuned! In the immortal words of Paul Revere, "The climax is coming! The climax is coming!" 


	5. That's When I Get Mad

Yami  
by TAFKAE  
  
Chapter 5: That's When I Get Mad  
  
~*~*~  
  
"You don't seriously think this is gonna work?" Tristan asked skeptically.  
  
Yugi closed his eyes and sighed, then opened them again, never taking them off the Puzzle in front of him. "I'm not sure, but I have to try. This might be the only chance we have."  
  
"Well, it better work," Joey stated. "I guess we gotta do what it takes sometimes."  
  
Yugi was already tying the Puzzle around his neck, feeling the turbulent struggle within that was now suddenly in his mind again… He winced and sat down on the sofa. "I'll be back," he promised, but more to himself than to anyone else. And with a quick shift of consciousness, he was back in the middle again.  
  
~*~*~  
  
Yami and the demon were both pretty worn down. Yami was bruised and breathing heavily. It was hard to tell his opponent's condition except for the breathing heavily part. But they were still at it, still at each other's throats, still trying to bring each other down to hell. Téa watched anxiously. Yugi did not.  
  
It was obvious he was trying to control the pain he felt whenever one of the combatants landed a hit on the other, but he stood straight and tall, and looked more like his alter ego than himself. "You have to stop!" he shouted. "This won't solve anything!"  
  
Neither one listened. Finally, the two took up positions opposite each other, and Yami spoke up. "How about one last hit?" he offered, but it was more a statement than a question. "Then we can decide who wins."  
  
"Fine with me," the demon's voice rasped.  
  
"No!" Yugi yelled. "Please, you _have_ to stop!"  
  
Yami's hands were engulfed in a dark red aura. Two pseudopods of the demon were surrounded by a dark blue one. "Let's do this," Yami growled, and at the exact same moment, the bursts of dark light were fired at each other.  
  
It was hard to tell what happened next. One moment there was nothing between the opponents, and the next there was Yugi, arms and legs outstretched, screaming one word that echoed in everyone's minds - "STOP!!"  
  
"Yugi!" Téa shouted, reaching one hand out toward him, then drawing it back to protect her eyes from the flash that followed.  
  
"Fool!" the shadow screeched.  
  
Yami grimaced, shielding his own face from the wind. _Yugi…_  
  
A few seconds later, all was still. Yugi fell limply to the ground, landing facedown. Téa ran over, her eyes watering. "Yugi!" She kneeled down beside him and rolled him onto his back. She didn't have to look at his face to know…  
  
"You killed him…!" she whispered, then screamed. "YOU KILLED HIM!"  
  
~*~*~  
  
The next thing Joey and Tristan heard were a few stifled sobs in Téa's direction. Joey glanced over. She was curling up into a ball. "Hey, it worked after all!" he exclaimed, though Tristan had already noticed.  
  
Tristan smiled. "Great!" He crawled over (it would have been wasted effort to stand up) and sat beside her. "Hey, Téa, are you all right?"  
  
Téa sniffled and whispered something incomprehensible.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Please, God," she whispered. "Please let this all be just a dream…"  
  
Tristan took her by the shoulder with one hand and shook gently. "Téa, wake up. It's all right now."  
  
Téa looked into his eyes, which widened. Hers was an expression of desperation, of someone who had just witnessed something terrible, something so awful it didn't even have a name…  
  
"What's wrong?" he asked.  
  
She sniffed quietly. "It's Yugi…"  
  
"What about 'im?" Joey prompted.  
  
Téa barely managed to get the words out before breaking into uncontrollable sobs again. "He's dead."  
  
~*~*~  
  
"You bastard," Yami snarled. "That was my friend."  
  
The demon seemed to scowl, even without a face. "He got in the way, of his own free will, a very unwise decision." It waved a pseudopod dismissively in the air. "His sacrifice was nothing more than symbolic. That's why martyrdom doesn't _work_."  
  
"It worked all right," Yami replied. "You can steal my identity, and you can pretend I'm evil…" He clenched one fist at his side. "…but when you hurt my friends…" His eyes flew open, full of rage, ready to kill. "_…that's_ when I get _mad!!_"  
  
His entire form this time was surrounded by the same dark red aura as before. "You're going to wish you were never spawned!" he roared. With no further warning, he shot toward the demon with everything he had.  
  
"Fool!" it shouted. "You can't banish me to the shadow realm. Your puny powers are nothing compared to mine!"  
  
Yami was face to face with it now, his eyes flaring with a spark of confidence and two of fury. "You don't deserve to go to the shadow realm," he hissed, his hands raised and radiating with power. "You hurt my friends. Prepare to die."  
  
The demon's eyes went wide, but only for a second, and then Yami's hands were twisted, and then everything was twisted, and then the demon realized that it was because _it_ was twisting, and it let out a scream, and then its darkness closed in upon itself, pulling all its influence out of Yugi's mind with it. Yami shouted and obliterated the small black hole into nothingness.  
  
As suddenly as it had started, it was over.  
  
Yami sat down hard to catch his breath. It was over, and all his friends were safe, now. Then he remembered Yugi… He sighed and lowered his head. Now _he_ was alone…  
  
His attention was caught by a small speck of motion out of the corner of his eye. He turned his head just in time to see Yugi sit up and rub his head. His eyes widened for a second, then narrowed again with a hint of a smile.  
  
Yugi groaned. "What happened? I feel like I've been hit by a bus…"  
  
"You died," Yami stated simply. "Welcome back."  
  
Yugi's face showed an air of confusion. "_Back_…? How did you…?"  
  
"I didn't." Yami closed his eyes. "To be honest, I don't know how it happened." He opened them again and looked at Yugi. "Get some rest. You'll need it."  
  
"Yami?"  
  
Yami cast him a questioning look.  
  
"For a while there, I was… I was really afraid I'd lost you." Yugi looked down and to the side.  
  
"So was I," Yami admitted in a tone that said he didn't like admitting things. "I felt like I'd lost a part of myself, until I realized we're not a part of each other…" He trailed off, as though he wasn't done talking. When Yugi didn't respond, his counterpart stood and closed his eyes. "We _are_ each other."  
  
Yugi looked up. Something in his expression showed understanding. "Yes… that almost makes sense. Both of us…"  
  
Yami laughed quietly. "So how about telling your friends you're alive?"  
  
~*~*~  
  
"Gone…?" Joey still couldn't believe it. No way, no how, could Yugi be dead.  
  
Téa had mostly stopped crying now. "I don't know… what…" and she broke into tears again.  
  
Just then, Yugi's fingers quivered. The hand that was hanging off the sofa curled slowly, almost imperceptibly, into a fist. Tristan was the first to notice. "Hey guys…" He pointed.  
  
"Alive?" someone asked, either Joey or Téa, or maybe both.  
  
Yugi almost heard the voices, but not really. He couldn't seem to climb out of the crevasse of his own mind, but finally, he reached the surface and gently opened his eyes.  
  
"…Yugi?" Joey ventured.  
  
Yugi managed a small smile. "Hi," he replied weakly. "I need… to tell you…"  
  
A drop or two of joy fell down Téa's face. "Tell us what?"  
  
"I'm not… I'm not dead…" Yugi whispered, and then his eyes closed, and the world was silent again, except for the relief and gratitude his friends were feeling inside…  
  
*/CHAPTER*  
*/STORY*  
  
The story is over, the battle's been won,  
But the war that they're fighting, now that's far from done.  
Stay tuned for the sequel, I'm giving 'em hell!  
(Same bat time, same bat chann-ell.)  
  
Oh, by the way, please read and review…  
That's how I know if I should write a part two.  
  
~*~*~  
  
_Yu-gi-oh Philosophy: Inside every good guy is a bad guy screaming to get out… if the good guy has a Millennium Item, that is._  



End file.
